Blood Runs Thick
by Wishmaker1028
Summary: The third story from Wattpad is here. Takes place right after Thunder and Ice, where Mario and Luigi try to reconnect their bond as brothers. Can they do it? And what of Mr. L? There's only one way to find out! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box! Edited on DA.
1. Prologue

**Blood Runs Thick**

It was a quiet night in Boo Woods. Mario and Luigi were spending the night at Luigi's house, since they had just arrived home after the Ms. D incident. Violet was spending the night with Peach, wanting to get to know the princess better. Anyways, neither of the Manfredi twin was saying anything. They were just watching Spettro playing. Mario decided to finally break the ice.

He asked, "So...Spettro, huh?"

Mario had to admit that it wasn't the best question in the world but if it got the two of them to talk, it was worth it.

Luigi only answered, "Uh...yeah..."

Mario knew that Luigi would shut him out again so he quickly asked, "Cause he's a ghost and everything?"

Luigi answered, "Um...yes..."

The red clad plumber sensed that there was going to be another awkward silence coming. He knew that he had to stop it.

He asked, "Luigi...do you wanna talk to me? Please Weegie. I can't help you if you don't let me in, baby bro. Please talk to me...?"

Luigi looked at Mario, with tears in his eyes. Mario couldn't tell if he should jump the gun or comfort his baby brother but he finally heard:

"Why?"

Mario was a bit startled that Luigi had said something but he recovered in time as he answered, "I just want to talk to you, bud."

Luigi stated, "There's nothing to talk about, Malleo."

Mario grabbed Luigi's arm as the green clad ghost hunter tried to leave the room.

The red clad plumber insisted, "There's something to talk about. There's everything to talk about, Weegie."

The green clad ghost hunter pulled his arm away and said in Italian, "Non c'è niente di cui parlare."

Mario replied, "What do you mean there's nothing to talk about? Luigi, you are shutting me out!"

Luigi hissed, "You've been shutting me out ever since we came here!"

With that, Luigi ran upstairs and slammed the door to his room closed. Spettro whimpered, feeling bad for its master. Mario stood at the foot of the stairs, his hand over his heart. Mario had never seen Luigi look so mad...so hurt. That's when he remembered something that King Boo once told him.

_"Think about it, red cap. The minute you get the opportunity to go on vacation with the princess and her royal adviser, what was the first thing you do? You started packing! You didn't - not even once - ask your own younger twin brother if he wished to join you. Nope, the only thing you did was asked him to get the luggage from the attic since you were too busy talking about the trip of a lifetime. Talk about insult to injury. __You think Luigi is a poor excuse for a human. Why else would you leave him behind constantly? It is because you are embarrassed to be around a failure and the worst part is - he is your younger twin brother."_

Mario clutched his hand into a fist, still upset by these words. He always wanted to protect Luigi. But seeing those scars on his baby brother's back and chest, the oldest Manfredi twin knew that something happened that Luigi - and Elvin - were hiding. But he was determined to find out.

* * *

Meanwhile in Evershade Valley, Elvin was working rather hard on a new piece of equipment called Dark-Light Goggles. One of the Slammers, Emile, looked outside and saw someone coming towards the Gloomy Manor. Emile smirked, having an idea to surprise the visitor. Jon, one of the Hiders, frown upon this as Emile headed out. Emile came behind the person and was about to slam them. However, the person was ready as he activated some fire power, revealing it to be Mario. Emile quickly stopped, knowing that he would never hear the end of it from Elvin or Luigi if he slammed thee Super Mario. The red clad plumber chuckled.

Mario asked, "Thought I was Weegie, Emile?"

Emile was surprised that the red clad plumber knew his name. Mario simply chuckled as he continued towards the manor and Elvin. Tyler (a Greenie) and Tim (a sneaker) both saw Mario coming in and alerted Elvin. Elvin looked and saw Mario coming in.

Elvin greeted, "Ah, salutations Mario! I wasn't expecting you, my boy!"

Mario replied, "I know this is last minute but I wanted to talk to you."

Josh (a Globber) came in, looking mighty worried about Mario.

Elvin pointed out, "Well, whatever it is, it seems to have caught all of my ghosts attention. So what seems to be the problem?"

Mario sighed as he responded, "Elvin...Luigi is becoming more distant towards me. I wanna know why. I know I haven't been the best brother to him and I accept that. But I want to help him now and make things right. So please, professore, help my fratello and me..."

Elvin was the one to sigh now as he instructed, "Emile, Jon, get us some chairs. Tim, get the sisters to get tea on. This is gonna be a long night..."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Luigi's house, the green clad plumber was looking himself over in the mirror. A usually typical thing...until Mr. L appeared as his reflection.

Mr. L taunted, **"Still not telling sir-jumps-a-lot the truth, are you?"**

Luigi hissed, "Stay out of this."

Mr. L replied, **"Oh come on, junior. Let me come to the surface again. I had a lot of fun trying to kill fratello. What does that even mean by the way?"**

Luigi hissed, "I'm not telling you your connection to Malleo. I rather die."

Mr. L smirked as he stated, **"That can be arranged, you know. I've done it once and I would love to do it again."**

Luigi replied, making a fist, "It's not happening, Mr. L. I'm not letting my anger get to me so you can be free and kill fratello."

Mr. L commented, **"You sure are committed to sir-jumps-a-lot. Almost like a brother."**

Luigi nearly froze as he whispered, almost singing, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy that you always have to be... Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know..."

The image of Mr. L went away as Luigi panted in a cold sweat, his heart (or the Purity Heart, he didn't know which) pounded. He couldn't let Mr. L know that Mario was his brother. He couldn't be proud of his fratello while he talked to the bandit, he had to hide the fact that the two of them were related. _'Thankfully Mr. L doesn't know a word of Italian,'_ Luigi thought,_ 'But it won't be long before he believes it...'_

* * *

_AK1028: Yes, I quoted the song from Frozen! It's been stuck in my head and it is an awesome song! But I thought it would be fitting here since Mr. L doesn't believe that Luigi and Mario are brothers... Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	2. First Mansion Horrors

Mario was sitting with Elvin at a table in the Foyer of the Gloomy Manor. The Spiritual Sisters: Myra, Jamie, and Stephanie had prepared tea for the two humans as the rest of the ghost left to give them space. Mario sipped on the tea and was generally surprised that it was decently good. Elvin sipped the tea himself, seeming more troubled than what Mario expected. But then again, they were about to talk about an uneasy subject...the first mansion incident.

The red clad plumber finally broke the ice and asked, "Well...um...this is slightly awkward but...can we start talking now, Elvin...?"

Elvin looked up and answered, "Oh yes, yes. I'm sorry my boy but this is a sensitive topic for me as well. But as you quite remember, I did try to warn you that the mansion was dangerous."

Mario sighed as he stated, "Yeah and I got owned by those Boos and then tormented by their boss. He did all sorts of unimaginable things to me..."

The ghost researcher sighed now and replied, "You weren't the only one that was tortured that night. Luigi was too. After he had quite the struggle with defeating Chauncey, things only got worse. The ghost taunted, bruised, beat up, and did awful things to your brother. He was at the brink between your life or his at one point."

Mario stammered, "Wh-what?"

Elvin nodded and explained, "During the blackout, Luigi was trying to get to the Wardrobe Room to find Uncle Grimmy, who had the key to the Breaker Room. He went into the Telephone Room to get away from the ghosts that were chasing him. However, during a lightning flash, and these were Luigi's words: _'I s-s-s-s-s-saw a shadow of me...hanging myself... Elvin, I had never been so scared, so threatened, so...tempted...'_ At that moment, my boy...I knew...I knew that there was something else going on that Luigi wasn't telling me."

Mario was in shock as he barely asked, "D-d-d-did you see the shadow?"

Elvin shook his head and answered, "N-no. I had lost communication with Luigi when that lightning hit. But when Luigi told me that, I knew that it had to have been the Boos doing. They wanted him to stop his rescue mission so the kingdom would burn in fire."

Mario was in complete and total shock. He never thought that Luigi would be tempted to...

_"Think about it, red cap. The minute you get the opportunity to go on vacation with the princess and her royal adviser, what was the first thing you do? You started packing! You didn't - not even once - ask your own younger twin brother if he wished to join you. Nope, the only thing you did was asked him to get the luggage from the attic since you were too busy talking about the trip of a lifetime. Talk about insult to injury. You think Luigi is a poor excuse for a human. Why else would you leave him behind constantly? It is because you are embarrassed to be around a failure and the worst part is - he is your younger twin brother."_

Mario grabbed his head and started screaming in pure horror and rage. Elvin was startled by this as Tim came up from behind Mario and screeched to calm down the red clad plumber. Mario panted, balls of sweat rolling down his face. Elvin never looked so startled, so worried.

Finally; Mario stated, "No...no...no! This can't be true! I won't listen to his lies!"

Elvin started to say, "My boy, I would..."

Mario looked at him, pure anger in his sapphire eyes and replied, "Not you, Elvin. Th-that devil of a ghost! I would never be that cruel to Luigi!"

The red clad plumber collapsed to his knees, panting in rage and in horror. Elvin and the other ghosts looked at him with pity. There was obliviously more than one side to the story that they all knew...

* * *

Meanwhile, Luigi had calmed down from seeing Mr. L in the mirror and went downstairs to the kitchen. He saw Spettro chewing on a golden bone but...there was no Mario.

He called out, "Mario?"

No answer. Luigi gulped as he tried again.

He called out, a bit louder, "Mario!"

Again, no answer. Spettro pawed Luigi's leg as he wagged his tail.

Luigi looked at him and asked, worried about Mario, "What is it, boy?"

Spettro walked over to the kitchen table and pointed. There, on the table, was a note. Luigi took it and read it.

It read, _'Dear Luigi, since you aren't ready to open up to me, I've decided to ask Elvin a few questions. Should be back before the princess is kidnapped again. ~Mario'_

**"Some note that sir-jumps-a-lot wrote."**

Luigi jumped out of his skin, spun around, but saw no one there. Spettro was startled from his master's antics. Luigi saw this and puzzled._ 'Didn't Spettro hear Mr. L,'_ he wondered.

Finally taking the courage; he said aloud, "I know you are around so come on out!"

**"Would love to, junior, but you aren't letting me come to the surface again."**

Spettro looked worried as it appeared that Luigi was having a one side conversation with himself.

Luigi asked, "Why can't Spettro hear you?"

Mr. L answered, **"Simple, junior. Ghostly-pooch and I haven't been formally introduced. Besides, since I am YOU, he can't hear me right now."**

Luigi hissed, "Why do you keep haunting my every thought then?"

Mr. L explained, **"Why not, junior? If I'm supposed to fulfill my mission, then I need to come to the surface. Come on, let me at sir-jumps-a-lot, pretty-princess-in-pink, and koopa-with-a-weight-problem."**

Luigi started to sing softly, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy that you always have to be... Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know..."

As soon as he felt himself calming down, the green clad ghost hunter breathed a sigh of relief. _'Seems like that calms me down and prevents my anger from becoming Mr. L. That's the last thing anyone needs right now,'_ he thought.

* * *

Mario had explained what had happened to him and King Boo. Elvin shook his head.

He stated, "I can see why you reacted that way."

The red clad plumber asked, "Did Luigi tell you about Isle Defino?"

Elvin answered, "In all honesty, he said nothing about it. He was too worried about you to tell me anything."

Mario stated, "Then that just proves it... I don't deserve Luigi as my twin..."

* * *

_AK1028: Well, there we go with our second chapter. Slowly and steadily we go through cause we want to make sure that we touch on both Mario and Luigi, who is trying to make sure that Mr. L doesn't return to the surface. Anyways, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	3. Of Prophecies and Of Hearts

For the longest time, Mario was completely silent. Elvin was getting worried.

Elvin started to say, "My boy, if you're having a hard time talking with me..."

Mario interrupted, "Sorry Elvin, I was just thinking. I just don't know what territory I'm in right now. I mean, I didn't mean to be so cruel to Weegie. But I thought a vacation would be good for me. I didn't expect for Bowser and his son to mess things up...nor did I consider Weegie's feelings either."

Elvin stated, "It's hard being a sibling, even harder being a twin, it's understandable. But my boy, Luigi is a good and kind heart soul. He would never want to harm you. He loves you too much."

Mario sighed as he replied, "He wouldn't but Mr. L would."

Elvin looked puzzled as he asked, "Who?"

Mario looked up at the ghost researcher and asked, "Luigi never told you about Mr. L?"

Elvin shook his head and answered, "Not exactly. I'm clueless to who he is...and who this Dimentio fellow was. Luigi said it was a long story and I always felt that if Luigi didn't want to press on about something, I would drop the matter."

Mario took in a deep breath and stated, "Then you should hear the story of the lost book of prophecies. This prophetic book was a mysterious tome of stories of future events. Of course, many people craved this book, wishing to glimpse their futures. But no person, after obtaining this amazing book, ever found happiness. The reason? The book held frightful secrets not meant for people's eyes. That book came to be called the Dark Prognosticus and was sealed away. This...is the tale of that forgotten book's last owner. It is a tale of love..."

As Mario told the story of Chaos Heart incident, his mind went back to that moment where he forced to realize Mr. L was Luigi...

* * *

-Flashback-

**Mario's POV**

_My team (which consisted of Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and myself) were watching Tippi, er, Timpani trying to talk some sense into Count Bleck, er, Blumiere. That's when I saw __Nastasia turn around and saw something coming towards Count Bleck._

_She gasped and yelled, "Count, look out!"_

_With that said, __Nastasia threw herself in front of Count Bleck. A powerful magical blast hit her in those moments, looking like it killed her._

_A voice far away commented, "Silly assistant! Absorbing my attack to protect him? What an adorably hopeless gesture."_

_My anger instantly got to me as I recognized the voice. It was Dimentio and he flew over to us. Dimentio looked at dead __Nastasia, disappointed. I clutched my fist. Oh he was so asking to get smoked!  
_

_He added, "I was about to give him the everlasting peace he so desperately wants!"_

_Tippi (or Timpani depending on how you look at it) was surprised as she blurted out, "Dimentio?! You're...alive?"_

_Dimentio chuckled evilly as he replied, "Of course. This is my moment. Even if the count dies, the Chaos Heart won't disappear if I continue to control it! But I needed the power of the Pure Hearts to beat him... I couldn't do that on my own. So I had you do all of the sweaty labor for me. And you even used your Pure Hearts to defeat Count Bleck! If they make greeting cards to thank people with evil plans, I owe you one."_

_Timpani questioned, getting angry, "What are you saying?!"_

_Dimentio explained, coldly, "I'm saying that you no longer have value to me, so I'm ending your ending your games. They're all yours, Mr. L!"_

_Upon hearing that, I knew that I was ready for a rematch with Mr. L. He had been a thorn in our side since he started to show his ugly face and I really wanted to smack Dimentio and him out of here to save all worlds._

_I stated, "Finally, a rematch!"_

_Dimentio smirked and replied, "I don't think you want to battle Mr. L."_

_What? Why did he say that? Of course I wanted to battle Mr. L. I kinda wanted to. The guy was always pushing my buttons wrong and he was asking for me to smoke him too.  
_

_I started to hiss, "What do you..." Just then, Dimentio snapped his fingers as Luigi rushed up to him, going pass me. In that moment, I froze. Why did Luigi step forward? Was he going to battle Dimentio? Bad idea since I almost lost him last time he did. I finally asked, "Weegie, what are you doing?"  
_

_Luigi stammered, flapping his arms, "I d-don't k-know, Malleo... I can't control myself! W-what's happening?!"_

_With a rainbow light, a floral sprout was on Luigi's head. Everyone gasped in shock. My eyes widened in shock. My heart started to pound in my chest. I was starting to have a bad feeling about this whole thing.  
_

_I breathed, "L-Luigi?!"_

_Luigi shouted, coldly, **"I AM MR. L!" **'NO! Oh my gosh, NO! My beloved brother can't be my worst enemy! NO, this can't be happening,' I thought, miserably. My hopes were shattered when Luigi turned to Dimentio and asked, in his Mr. L voice,**"Dimentio, what is your bidding?"**_

_Everyone was in shock about this but not as much as I was. I mean, the right half of his body was dressed as Mr. L while the other half was still Luigi. I totally ignored Peach and Bowser, my body shaking badly.  
_

_I blurted out, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER?!"_

_Dimentio commented, "When I let Luigi here meet up with you, I planted a seed in the fertile soil of his unconscious... And now that seed has sprouted spectacularly!"_

_'No...Luigi...no...' I thought, in total misery. My brother, my golden heart twin brother, was this monster the entire time...and I didn't even see it. What kind of brother was I not being able to see that my baby brother was in this much trouble...?_

_I heard Peach yelling to me, "Mario, snap out of it! You have to focus! You are facing Dimentio and your own brainwashed twin!"_

_Dimentio smirked as he stated, "Look at that, thee Super Mario is unable to fight. How satisfying your reaction is that your weak link is your own worst fear..."_

_I couldn't fight my own brother! He saved my life during that mansion fiasco. I couldn't battle him... But when the ground shook underneath my feet, I realized one thing - I had no choice. All worlds were counting on my team and I to stop Dimentio and...Mr. L. I heard Dimentio saying something about Luigi being the perfect host for the Chaos Heart. No, that couldn't be true..._

_But then again...my team and I are fighting this huge robot with Dimentio and Mr. L at the controls. It was very possible that my twin, my own flesh and blood, was the perfect host for the Chaos Heart..._

-End of Flashback-

* * *

Meanwhile, Luigi was still struggling to keep Mr. L at bay. Spettro watched in worry as Luigi continued to lightly singing to himself, as if his life depended on it. What Spettro didn't know was that Mr. L wanted to take over Luigi and kill Mario as revenge for what happened recently.

Mr. L taunted,** "Oh come on, junior. Stop fighting me and let me emerge."**

Luigi ignored Mr. L for the most part, though the Chaos Heart's light was starting to show. The green clad ghost hunter was losing the fight.

He kept singing, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel. Don't them know..."

Mr. L stated, **"You really don't want me popping out, huh? Hate to break it to you, junior, but the Chaos Heart says otherwise."**

Luigi stammered, "I-I'm not letting you come out, Mr. L... I'm not letting you kill Mario..."

Spettro perked up at this as he saw the Chaos Heart's black light coming from Luigi's chest. Spettro stepped back two feet as the light grew stronger and Mr. L was starting to show on Luigi's right side.

Mr. L replied, his voice controlling Luigi's almost, **"You're losing, junior."**

Luigi sang, tearing, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy you always have to be... Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know..."

Mr. L took advantage of Luigi's sadness and sang, **"Well now they know!"**

Luigi screamed as the Purity Heart tried one last ditch effort to stop the Chaos Heart from taking over. It just wasn't enough as the black light enveloped Luigi, letting Mr. L emerge completely. Seeing the bandit, Spettro ran off to warn Mario.

* * *

_AK1028: Uh oh... This cannot be good! Luigi has been taken over by Mr. L! We have a real crisis here! Can Luigi get out of this one? Can Mario save their brother ship? And most importantly...will there be a happy ending?! Stay tuned to find out! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	4. Under the Dark Moon

Elvin was in shock after Mario had told him the entire story about the Chaos Heart. He was about to say something until Spettro came through the wall, tackling Mario in a very hyper state.

Mario asked, "Spettro? What's the matter boy?"

Elvin answered, "Goodness, he looks like he's seen a ghost...if you pardon the pun."

Spettro whined sadly, pulling on Mario's shirt, as if he was trying to warn him.

Mario stated, "Something's wrong. Spettro only did that when there's something wrong."

Elvin questioned, "But what's wrong? And where's Luigi?"

Spettro growled upon hearing Luigi's name. Mario picked up on this. _'Spettro never growls at Luigi's name unless...it's not Luigi,'_ he thought, his eyes widening when he realized.

Mario asked the Polterpup, "He's not Luigi, is he boy?"

Spettro whined sadly, still pulling on Mario's collar, a pure indiciation that he was in danger.

Elvin stated, "Luigi must've changed into Mr. L..."

Mario replied, "More than that, he's on his way here. Spettro wants me to leave so I can stay safe."

Spettro panted, another sign to show that Mario's reply was correct. Elvin thought, _'Pretty smart Polterpup.'_

Elvin pointed out, "My boy, I don't think leaving here is a good idea. As soon as Mr. L sees you aren't here, he might terrorize the ghosts and might wind up destroying the Dark Moon again."

Mario sighed as he responded, "Hate to admit it but you are right. We can't have him destroying the Dark Moon again."

Elvin asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Mario answered, "Defeat Mr. L and get Luigi back."

Elvin stated, "Sounds simple but I have a feeling it won't be..."

All of the ghosts nodded as Spettro whined, worried about his master.

* * *

-Flashback-

_Luigi had just been pixelated to the Haunted Towers, on a mission to hunt down Polterpup, after the nutty ghost puppy took the Special Key that he needed. Luigi went through the gate and saw Polterpup there, next to the key. Luigi smiled at the ghost pup, unafraid of him._

_He said, "Hey!"_

_Polterpup smiled as he wagged his tail, playfully. He grabbed the key, shook his head and ghost slobber came out of his mouth. Polterpup then threw the key up into the air and swallowed it whole. Luigi gasped as Polterpup wagged his tail, still playing around, and went threw the wall._

_Luigi groaned as he knew what this meant: he had to chase Polterpup in ordinary to get the Special Key..._

-End of Flashback-

* * *

Meanwhile, Mr. L had discovered Mario's note and grabbed the Duel Scream off of the dresser in Luigi's room. He looked at it carefully.

Mr. L said, mostly to himself, **"Well, junior. An interesting piece of equipment for you...a two way radio that provides a map."**

The bandit opened the Duel Scream and on it showed a location: Lab, Gloomy Manor, Evershade Valley.

He commented, **"Well...Evershade Valley, huh? Might not know my way but if that's where this _'Elvin'_ is, I might as well go there and pay sir-jumps-a-lot a visit."**

Mr. L went out the door, running down the pathway of Boo Woods. He was on a mission to kill Mario and no one was going to stop him. Not even Luigi's protests in the very back of his mind made him stop.

* * *

The bandit finally stopped when he saw that he had arrived at Evershade Valley. The ghosts all stopped playing and saw him there. They smiled, seeing their chance to scare someone new. Course, that WAS their plan but Mr. L had other plans. He activated his green thunder.

He stated, **"You know, I've always wanted to target practice with spirits-that-are-a-nuisance. Let's see how I do."**

With that, he started to shock the ghosts that were surrounding him. The ghosts screamed in fear, their screams sounding like screeches. Mr. L liked that sound as a sudden fireball thrown at him made him stop, jumping out of its path.

Mario made his appearance and said, "Leave them alone, Mr. L! They did nothing to you!"

Mr. L smirked as he stated, **"I knew that would flush you out, sir-jumps-a-lot."**

Mario replied, "I won't let you terrorize innocent and friendly ghosts."

Mr. L responded, **"Then let's just to battle already. Or are you too scared to fight me?"**

Mario hissed, his fire powers activated, "I beat you once, I can do it again!"

Mr. L replied, **"Then bring it, sir-jumps-a-lot."**

With one smooth move, Mario threw another fireball straight at Mr. L, who had nearly dodged it. He fired his green thunderbolts at the red clad plumber, who quickly dodged them. Mario decided to go for the direct approach and ran towards Mr. L. The bandit did the same thing as the red clad plumber threw a punch towards the bandit. The bandit did the exact same thing as the two punches made their mark. Mario was hit in the jaw while Mr. L was hit in the neck. Both of them stumbled back as the red clad plumber used his fire powers to create will-o-wisps to surround the bandit.

Mr. L brought his arms to his chest, taking the hits as he surrounded Mario with an electric wave. Mario took the hit after bracing himself. He looked around for Mr. L as the bandit came up from behind him and knocked him to the ground. Mario grunted as he looked up. He saw that Mr. L had pinned him down, using his body weight to keep down the red clad plumber. They were under the Dark Moon, as the purple light from it seemed to have made the situation more scary.

He grunted, "You won't win!"

Mr. L chuckled as he stated, **"Face it, sir-jumps-a-lot, I have more power. I will demonstrate it even more once I kill you and go after pretty-princess-in-pink and body-as-cold-as-ice."**

Mario replied, "No you won't. Your mission will be completed once you kill me and you'll just fade away into nothing!"

Mr. L scoffed, getting a big electric ball of energy ready, looking smug.

He responded, **"You fool, don't you see? The Chaos Heart keeps me alive and going. And as long as it feels chaos and badness, it lives on. So that junior is long gone!"**

Mario closed his eyes and braced for the worst. But when he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see two things. One: he was still alive. And two: the glove on Mr. L's left hand where he was holding the big electric ball of energy...was white. Mario looked up at the bandit as he looked startled. Mario knew in that moment that Luigi's spirit stopping Mr. L from killing him.

The red clad plumber saw his chance but since Mr. L still had a lot of control, he was still pinned down to the ground. _'I'll have to talk to him,'_ Mario thought.

Mario breathed, "Weegie! Please, help me!"

More of Luigi started to appear on Mr. L's left side as the bandit was stunned.

Mr. L hissed, **"No! I'm not letting you come out till I finish what I want to do!"** The bandit grunted as he took over Luigi completely yet again. He looked at Mario and asked, **"Now where were we, sir-jumps-a-lot?"** However, luck wasn't on Mr. L's side as the white glove appeared yet again. He cursed, **"Grambi, junior! You sure are strong, aren't you?"**

Luigi took over the left side as he was singing, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy you always have to be... Conceal, don't feel... Don't let them know..."

The green clad ghost hunter lifted his left side up enough to let Mario free. The red clad plumber got off of the ground and looked at the kneeling green clad man. At the moment, he was half good and half evil.

Mario stated, "Come on, Luigi. Fight him!"

Luigi replied, "I'm trying but he's strong!"

Mr. L hissed, **"I'm not going back there! I'm going to finish my mission and then take over the kingdom!"**

Luigi responded, near tears, "I won't let you!"

Mr. L questioned, hissing, **"Why do you care about someone who constantly treats you as player 2?!"**

Mario answered, before Luigi could, "Cause he's my brother!"

Luigi's eyes widened in horror as Mr. L looked stunned. _'What did I say wrong,'_ Mario thought, looking worried. While Luigi was distracted, the chaos was enough for Mr. L to regain complete control yet again. _'Oh Grambi,'_ Mario thought.

* * *

_AK1028: This cannot be good! Can Mario save Luigi? Can they stop Mr. L? Find out in the next chapter! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	5. Brotherly Bonds

Mr. L got off of the ground, brushing himself off. His eyes never left Mario, as he wondered if the red clad plumber was telling the truth. Mario stood there, wondering if Mr. L was going to say anything...if at all.

Finally; Mr. L asked, **"Sir-jumps-a-lot? Junior's brother? Surely you joke."**

Mario answered, "It's no joke. Luigi is my baby twin brother."

Mr. L stated, **"Oh come on, sir-jumps-a-lot. I don't believe the brother factor and you expect me to believe the twin factor? I rather just go back to our regular scheduling beating."**

Mario saw that Mr. L had put out his hands and activated his green electricity powers.

He replied, "I know you don't believe it but why else would he stop you from killing me? If we were just friends, the Chaos Heart probably would've let you do it but it didn't. That's got to mean something to you."

Mr. L scoffed, **"I don't need family. I never did. I am a lone wolf, sir-jumps-a-lot."**

Mario asked, trying to get through to the bandit, "But what about the Count? O'Chunks? Nastasia? Mimi? ...Dimentio...?"

Mr. L put down his hands as he deactivated his powers and answered, **"Dimentio...pfft...I want to smash his face in for betraying the Count and using me. And the count...his game has ended...even I know that..."**

Mario breathed, "You know Count Bleck is dead?"

Mr. L hissed, **"It didn't take a genius to figure out that his game was going to end. At least he did it with honor."**

Mario started to say, "Actually, he banished the..."

Mr. L used his green electric power and yelled, **"SHUT UP, SIR-JUMPS-A-LOT!"**

The explosion of the green electric power forced Mario back. The red clad plumber was forced to the ground as he quickly got to his feet. He rushed into the Gloomy Manor, where Elvin was waiting in total horror.

Elvin stated, "You had him. What happened?"

Mario caught his breath and replied, "I guess Mr. L didn't believe that Luigi and I were twins. So Luigi was trying to hide it after what happened with the last encounter with his alter ego cause he knew that this was going to happen..."

Elvin responded, "You have to stop him, Mario."

Mario pointed out, "He won't listen to me... But I have to keep trying...for Luigi's sake..."

* * *

-Flashback-

_Mr. L stated, **"Give it up, junior. The Chaos Heart will defeat you and conquer the Purity Heart before sunrise."**_

_Luigi replied, "I won't let it happen! You won't get the chance to kill big bro!"_

_Mr. L responded, **"Pfft, my only target is sir-jumps-a-lot. By my hands he will perish."**_

_Luigi's face softened almost immediately as he asked, "You don't know?"_

_Mr. L answered, **"The only thing I know is that you are more annoying now than you were as the-guy-without-a-clue!"**_

_As he said that, the bandit went in for a direct attack. Luigi quickly dodged it as his heart (he had to wonder if that was his or the Purity Heart) was pounding._

_Luigi stated, "Listen to me, Mr. L. Mario, sir-jumps-a-lot, is your brother!"_

_Mr. L froze as he was on top of Luigi, pinning him down with all of his strength. He activated his green electricity._

_He hissed, **"Nice try, junior but I have no family."**_

_Luigi struggled as he replied, "Yes you do! Mario is your older twin! Technically. Do you really want to kill your own flesh and blood?"_

_At the current moment, Luigi didn't care about his own life. He forgot all about the Purity Heart and focused more on saving the one person that meant the world to him: Mario._

_Mr. L brought his hand that was crackling with green electricity closer and hissed, **"You lie!"**_

_Luigi responded, "I never lie. I only hide things that I don't want others to know. And that's one thing I'll never lie about...is my tie to Malleo."_

_What Luigi didn't know (or Mr. L for that matter) was that the Purity Heart was starting to react from the brotherly love that Luigi had for Mario. Mr. L backed off on Luigi, totally confused. Dimentio saw this while he was battling Mario. The jester created a barrier around the red clad plumber to prevent him from getting closer._

_Dimentio stated, "Do not listen to him, Mr. L. Why would you be programmed to kill your own brother?"_

_Luigi responded, "Because Mario was stopping you and Blumiere from getting the Chaos Heart. Blumiere was acting out of love for his intentions while you...are pure evil!"_

_Mr. L suddenly got stronger as he pinned Luigi to the ground yet again._

_He hissed, **"Don't you dare talk about the Count that way!"**_

_Luigi knew that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But he knew if he could save Mario, the chances of everyone escape would increase._

_The green clad ghost hunter stated, "Mr. L, can't you hear yourself...? You're defending the Count...not yourself...or Dimentio. You have a bit of the Purity Heart in you, don't you?"_

_Mr. L hissed, grabbing Luigi by the throat,** "I do not have that ridiculous Purity Heart in me junior. And will prove it, here and now!"**_

-End of Flashback-

* * *

_**'It can't be true,' **_Mr. L thought,**_ 'I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe that sir-jumps-a-lot is technically my brother.'_**

Suddenly, his left side of his body turned into Luigi again.

Luigi begged, "Please Mr. L! You have to believe that Mario is our brother!"

Mr. L hissed, **"I don't need a brother! I don't need anyone!"**

Luigi replied, "You couldn't be more wrong... We need our brother... We need our friends... We need our Vi... We need to live but that won't happen if you don't listen to me!"

Mr. L responded, **"I shall not listen to you, junior! I have been programmed to kill sir-jumps-a-lot and that's just what I'll do!"**

Mario came over and stated, "Please, listen to him Mr. L."

Luigi stammered, "M-Mario...help me..."

Mario replied, "I'm trying, bro."

Mr. L hissed, **"I will not believe your lies!"**

Luigi yelled, "You have to! We're Manfredi's! Malleo is my best friend...and my hero!"

Mr. L hissed, **"Why?! He always treats you like player 2!"**

Mario replied, "He's not player 2. Weegie is my best friend...and my hero..."

Upon hearing that, Luigi took over Mr. L completely, looking at Mario in total shock. Seeing this, Mario smiled as his heart slowed down from pounding so hard.

* * *

_AK1028: And there we have it. We will continue onwards soon... Till then, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	6. Finale

Mario offered his hand to Luigi, who still looked stunned from what Mario had said. The green clad ghost hunter finally took the red clad plumber's hand and got off of the ground.

Luigi stammered, "I'm y-your hero?"

Mario stated, "Yeah...you are and I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out. But I've always looked up to you."

Luigi replied, "I don't understand... Malleo...I'm supposed to be the one that looks up to you..."

Mario responded, "You couldn't be more wrong, Weegie. I can look up to you. Kinda have to... But, you get my point."

Luigi breathed, "How...?"

Mario explained, "When you saved me."

Luigi slightly joked, "Which time?"

Mario chuckled as he stated, "Point is, bro, I admire you the way you admire me. That's why I want us to be a team."

Luigi asked, "Then why leave me behind...?"

Mario answered, "To keep you safe. But now I realized that you can handle yourself."

Luigi hugged Mario and started to cry. Mario wrapped his arms around his baby bro and rubbed his back, ever so slowly.

He whispered, "I love you, Malleo."

Mario whispered, "I love you too, Weegie."

Not another word was spoken between the two brothers as they stay under the dark moon, hugging each other. Elvin and the ghosts smiled at the sight, leaving the two of them alone.

* * *

The very next day; Mario, Luigi, and Spettro were up and at them, playing with the ghostly pooch outside of Luigi's house. Spettro loved playing with both brothers and everything seemed calm again. There was no sign of Mr. L in the time that they were playing, that was a good sign.

Mario asked, "So since Mr. L didn't believe you the first time, you tried to hide the fact I was your brother?"

Luigi nodded and answered, "Yeah, which is why I decided to quote Papa to keep Mr. L at bay. Remember what he used to say at times? Conceal, don't feel?"

Mario stated, "Yeah, he used to say that to me all of the time when I was emotional like you."

Luigi questioned, "You used to be?"

Mario answered, "Still am, I am also guilty of following's Papa's old quote."

Luigi whispered, "Papa always knew what to do. So did Mama..."

Mario sighed as he confessed, "I miss them too."

Luigi looked at his big brother and barely said, "I saw Mama."

Mario perked up and breathed in Italian, "Mi scusi?"

Luigi repeated, slowly, "I saw Mama..."

* * *

-Flashback-

_Luigi groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was in a rather strange place. The fields were green, the skies were blue, and everything was at peace._

_"Where am I," he asked, as the gentle breeze ran through his hair._

_"Oh my gosh... Luigi! My sweet baby boy!"_

_Hearing that voice, Luigi spun around and saw his mother, Lucinda Manfredi running towards him._

_He croaked out, "Mama?"_

_Lucinda hugged her youngest son tightly but gently. Luigi returned it, in tears. He hadn't seen either of his parents since the car accident a year before him and Mario were sent to Mushroom Kingdom._

_She gushed, "Oh sweetie, I am so proud of you for stopping Mr. L!"_

_"Y-you saw that," Luigi asked, a bit surprised as he pulled away from his mom._

_Lucinda answered, "Your father and I sure did. Oh sweetie, why didn't you tell us before that you being bullied?"_

_Luigi stated, "I couldn't Mama... I didn't want Malleo's reputation to be ruined... He was always more brave than me."_

_Lucinda replied, "I don't know, Weegie. You were pretty brave too, especially as of late."_

_Luigi responded, "I've been trying and...how come I can see you? Am I dead? Did my game end? Am I in the Overthere?"_

_Lucinda explained, "No sweetie, you are still alive but out cold as they say. The Purity Heart can only take so many wishes at so much of a time."_

_Luigi questioned, "You've watched over us?"_

_Lucinda answered, "Ever since we crossed over. Blumiere and Timpani visit us often after they stopped the Chaos Heart the first time."_

_Luigi stated, "Aw Mama... I miss you and Papa so much..."_

_Lucinda replied, "I miss you boys too. But you should know, sweetie, no matter what - we'll always be with you and Mario. And certainly NOT that Mr. L."_

-End of Flashback-

* * *

Mario was stunned to say the least. He couldn't believe that his mom and dad were watching over them both...not to mention that Luigi managed to see their mom. Luigi nodded as he looked up at the sky, remembering the song that his mother sang when they were younger. The memories came to him in a fast motion as he started to cry.

He whispered, singing almost, "Don't let them in, don't let them see. Be the good boy you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know...

Mario perked up at this as he looked at Luigi and asked, "Is that the calming technique cause I heard you sing that earlier?"

Luigi answered, "Yeah, it seems to keep all emotions that can activate the Chaos Heart away for another day."

Mario questioned, "What would happen if it doesn't work?"

Luigi answered, slightly joking, "Were you not paying attention to anything that happened?"

Mario chuckled as he pulled Luigi into a hug. The green clad ghost hunter smiled, he had a feeling that things would turn around for the two of them. _'For once in my life, all signs are good,'_ Luigi thought.

* * *

Timpani: Your sons should be okay.

Mario Sr.: Hopefully you are right, Timpani.

Lucinda: Dear, why isn't Luigi wearing a coat? He'll catch a cold!

Blumiere: Ah, to have a beloved mother that cares so much for her youngest son is a sight to behold.

Timpani: She cares about Mario as well, Blumiere.

Mario Sr.: She always did love both of our boys. I just hope that Mr. L stays in Luigi's mind.

Lucinda: We all hope that, Mario, sweetie.

Blumiere: Whenever I hear that name, I have to look twice to see if the man in red didn't pass on.

Timpani: Yes, same here.

Mario Sr.: Nah, it'll take a lot - as you say - for someone to end my son's games.

Lucinda: And let's keep it that way.

* * *

_AK1028: Well guys, this is where we leave it. Next story, we'll be going into the next adventure. What will that adventure be? Stay tuned to find out! Till then guys, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


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